Candidates Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom McClintock, Peter Camejo, moderator Stan Statham, Arianna Huffington, and Cruz Bustamante are seen during a televised debate between the five top candidates vying to replace Gov. Gray Davis at California State University in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Photo: RICH PEDRONCELLI

Candidates Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom McClintock, Peter Camejo,...

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Photo: MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ

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(L to R) Hefting their signs, Davis Student Marinn (CQ) del Calbo (CQ) wants to keep Davis in office while Bruce Stevens of Sacramento is for the recallwhen protesters and supporters (MOST OF WHOM WOULD NOT GIVE THEIR NAMES) for and against the five major Gubernatorial candidates outside of the debate at California State University Sacramento on 9/24/03 Wednesday two weeks before the Oct 7th recall election.
Kat Wade / The Chronicle

Photo: Kat Wade

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(L to R) Hefting their signs, Davis...

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KIRK CAVALLI

Photo: KEVORK DJANSEZIAN

KIRK CAVALLI

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A protester for Davis and against Arnold Schwarzenegger faces off against a group of women supporting Schwarzenegger when protesters and supporters (MOST OF WHOM WOULD NOT GIVE THEIR NAMES) for and against the five major Gubernatorial candidates protest outside of the debate at California State University Sacramento on 9/24/03 Wednesday two weeks before the Oct 7th recall election.
Kat Wade / The Chronicle

2003-09-25 04:00:00 PDT Sacramento -- California's long-awaited debate in the recall election moved quickly from a scripted discussion to a free form donnybrook Wednesday night as the top five candidates to replace Democratic Gov. Gray Davis traded taunts, attacks and gibes, broken by the occasional political discussion.

While the 90-minute matchup wasn't always enlightening, it was entertaining.

Schwarzenegger, the leading GOP candidate in the had hoped to use the debate to shake McClintock and narrow the Republican field. Polls show Bustamante, the major Democratic candidate, as the leader in the replacement contest, should Davis be recalled Oct. 7.

MOVIE STAR AURA

Schwarzenegger has used his movie star aura to grab the media spotlight in the race, and his opponents Wednesday night finally had the chance to fight back in front of a statewide television audience.

Huffington was the chief attack dog, suggesting that Schwarzenegger was a pawn of former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, blindly backed business interests and parroted the Republican party line.

She mocked Schwarzenegger's sponsorship of Proposition 49, which called for after-school programs, saying it hasn't provided a thing for California schoolchildren.

"It was nothing but a photo-opportunity proposition," she said. "It was nothing but a springboard for your run for governor."

Schwarzenegger blamed the initiative's problems on the state's financial crisis, which he said was the fault of Bustamante and Davis.

He also pushed aside the suggestion that he's taking his cues from Wilson or President Bush.

"On Oct. 8, it won't be Governor Pete Wilson, it won't be Governor Bush, it will be Governor Arnold," he said.

The evening's nastiest moment came when Schwarzenegger tried to interrupt Huffington as she talked about California's need for a governor who will fight the Bush administration.

"This is the way you treat women," she said. "We know that, but not now."

"I just realized I have a perfect part for you in 'Terminator 4,' " Schwarzenegger shot back.

Huffington said after the debate that she was deeply offended by his comments, which she called revealing.

Schwarzenegger's relations with women have become an issue in the race, Huffington said at a news conference. "I have never been treated the way Arnold Schwarzenegger treated me tonight. I found it offensive to the women of California."

Schwarzenegger sought to downplay any criticism that he was too tough on Huffington and said he was satisfied with his performance.

"It was very entertaining and very fun to sit out there," he said. "I expected that they would go after me, because I'm the front-runner."

Schwarzenegger took shots at his opponents. Democratic efforts to deal with the workers' compensation problems "were all pre-election bogus, all trickery, " he said. He also slammed Bustamante as someone who has never run a business and doesn't know what it takes to create jobs.

Bustamante's plan to raise taxes on alcohol and tobacco and boost the tax rate on the wealthiest Californians is the same type of response that got the state into its financial predicament, Schwarzenegger said.

"Tax, tax, tax is their answer," the actor said. "You have an addiction problem. You should go to the addiction place."

QUIET MAN IN DEBATE

Bustamante was the quiet man in the debate, content to make his points without jumping into the free-for-all too often. He suggested a number of times that Schwarzenegger and Huffington didn't know much about how the state operates and worked to separate himself from the governor.

The state "clearly spent too much" in recent years, he said, and officials - - and candidates -- now must face that realistically and not tell half truths about how the budget gap can be closed.

"We have done all the easy things, now it's time to do the tough things," Bustamante said.

While the Democratic lieutenant governor attacked the recall in the debate's opening minutes, most of the evening was more "Yes on Bustamante" than "No on the Recall."

At one point, Huffington was complaining that Democratic leaders had tried to cut funding for higher education. When Bustamante said that he opposed that,

Huffington responded that Davis had supported it.

"Then talk to him," Bustamante replied.

Some policy issues were covered. A question about health care spotlighted the political gulf that separates the candidates.

Camejo and Huffington both came out for universal health care, arguing that every other industrial country insures its citizens that way.

"We've got to learn from Canada and Europe, there are things other people can teach us," Camejo said. "America is not always right at all."

Bustamante argued that while California can't afford a single-payer health care system now, a new bill that will require large companies to provide health insurance for their workers is an important first step.

"It will provide 1 million working people health care right now," Bustamante said. "I believe it's the most significant piece of legislation that will be passed this year."

"They cannot do it right now," he said. "They are overburdened as it is . . . What you will have is no jobs, no businesses and no health care. What we have to do right now is protect the businesses and protect the people so they have jobs."

McClintock called for dumping employer-paid health care and substituting a tax credit that would allow people to buy the health plan they wanted.

"If your employer chose your grocery store for you, I guarantee you two things," McClintock said. "It would be cheap for the employer and very inconvenient for you. Health plans are no different."

McClintock carefully refrained from attacking Schwarzenegger, and the actor had nothing but good things to say about his Republican rival after the debate.

He appeared eager to mend fences with McClintock, saying "we could make a good team in Sacramento."

But if Schwarzenegger were hoping that McClintock would drop out and leave him the lone leading Republican in the replacement race, he was disappointed.

McClintock said he had no intention of withdrawing, a move he said was not an option.

"When I entered this race,I made a promise to stay in right to the finish line," he said. "I keep my promises."'

While Bustamante refused to talk following the debate, representatives of Davis, who wasn't present, said the governor may have been the winner.

"When everyone is done laughing, we still have problems to deal with," said Peter Ragone, a spokesman for Davis. "Yeah, it was a hoot. But what you saw was an argument against the recall."

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Arnold Schwarzenegger: "The people are basically saying, "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore.' The people's will is being acted out.". Tom McClintock: "There are basically the four horsemen of this recession - workers' compensation, taxation, regulation and litigation.".

Peter Camejo: "The wealthy people are not paying their fair share of taxes.".

Arianna Huffington: "The people of California need somebody who's going to fight the Bush administration.".

Cruz Bustamante: "It's (the recall) bad for our state. I know people who are

organizing right now to recall the next governor if it's a Republican."